 |
| Calamaria albiventer (Gray, 1835) |
Abstract
Calamaria albiventer (Gray, 1835) is rediscovered at its type locality on Penang Hill on Penang Island, Malaysia after a six-decade absence of recorded sightings in the country. The species is known from only six locations in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and Sumatra. A description of the new specimen is provided along with the first ever illustrations of the species in life and observations of its natural history. An updated taxonomic key to the Calamaria species of Peninsular Malaysia is included.
Key words: Squamata, Colubridae, historical, taxonomy, systematics, herpetofauna, taxonomic key
 |
| Fig. 1. Calamaria albiventer (USMHC 2390) in life from Penang Hill, Penang Island. A, Dorsal view; B, Ventral view.
Photographs by Evan Quah [A–B].
|
Natural history. Almost nothing is known about the natural history of this species across its range (David & Vogel, 1996). In Peninsular Malaysia, C. albiventer is found in the lowlands as well as at higher elevations. Batchelor’s (1958) specimen from Asahan, Malacca, was collected in secondary forest near a reservoir. Flower (1899) collected a specimen on Penang Hill at 2,000 ft in the month of March 1898. The new specimen was found in hill dipterocarp forest (Fig. 2A) and it was crawling on the forest floor among the leaf litter at approximately 1700 hours, three hours before sunset. Conditions were damp from rains the night before. At the time of collection, USMHC 2390 had captured an earthworm, but it released the prey when it became startled when approached. This vermivorous diet is similar to that of other Calamaria species such as C. lumbricoidea, C. pavimentata, and C. schlegeli that have been observed feeding on earthworms as well (Malkmus et al., 2002; Tan & Yeo, 2013; Baker, 2014; Stuebing et al., 2014; Evan S.H. Quah, pers. obs.). Calamaria albiventer is expected to behave similarly to other species of Calamaria in being a secretive, terrestrial snake that hides beneath surface objects and leaf litter during the day and predominantly active at night (Malkmus et al., 2002; Stuebing et al., 2014). Nothing is known about the breeding biology of this species but it likely lays eggs like other members of the genus (Malkmus et al., 2002; Stuebing et al., 2014). On Penang Hill it occurs in sympatry with C. lumbricoidea, C. pavimentata, C. schlegeli, and Pseudorabdion longiceps (Evan S.H. Quah, pers. obs.). Based on a published checklist, this species would also occur with those same three Calamaria species on Bukit Larut along with other fossorial snakes including Collorhabdium williamsoni, P. longiceps, and Macrocalamus chanardi (Grismer et al., 2010).
Evan S. H. Quah, Kelvin K.P. Lim, Eric H.H. Leong and Shahrul Anuar M.S. 2018. Identification and A New Record from Penang Island of the Rare Redbellied Reed Snake (Calamaria albiventer) (Gray, 1835) (Serpentes: Calamariinae). RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY. 66; 486–493.
